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May 2008

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Hawaii 5-0

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Can Steelers Really Be Considered Super Bowl Contenders?

Can The Steelers Really Be Considered Contenders For The Super Bowl?

Jun 9th, 2013 by Nick Kelly

As Steelers fans, every year we expect our team to be in the Superbowl no matter what. Usually thatís a realistic expectation as we have watched our team go to the big game 3 out of the last 8 Superbowls. Compared to some teams that havenít even been to a Superbowl in their history, we as fans have it pretty good.

This offseason, after going 8-8 last season, you canít help but feel the hunger and drive the Steelers as a whole have. Personally, out of the past 10 years that I have followed the Steelers, they have never sounded so hungry. Several players have been quoted many times saying how disappointed they were to miss the playoffs, and how they feel the Steelers could reach the Superbowl. Todd Haley reinforced that idea when he was quoted saying:

As a team, our expectation is to get to that confetti game, as Coach Tomlin likes to call it.Ē

You also get a sense from the offensive players that Haleyís offense is really clicking for them now. I think the offense is going to do very well, with the help from the draft and overall player development. ďExpertsĒ and fans from other teams think the Steelers offense is done because of the losses of Mike Wallace and Rashard Mendenhall. I honestly want to laugh at them because they obviously havenít watched Steelers games that closely. Wallace killed so many drives for us, and on occasion made a play on his favorite deep ball. To me, that doesnít seem like a big gap in the offense, especially when you still have speedsters like Brown, Sanders, and 3rd round draft pick Markus Wheaton. Itís even funnier when people think the Steelers will miss Mendenhall. A me first, often injured running back, it was best for the Steelers to get rid of Mendenhall, even with his first-round draft status.

The biggest question is: Do the Steelers have what it takes to get to the big game? According to the rest of the football world, most people donít even think they will win the AFC North. I like it this way because it gives the Steelers even more motivation. Our team can be the one that is fighting to get to the top, and I know they like it that way. If you look at it, how many teams that were Superbowl favorites in the last several years actually won it? Last year, the Ravens just barely snuck into the playoffs, and won it. In 2011, the Giants just barely snuck into the playoffs and won it. Even though it pains me to say it, the Packers barely got in, and they won it. That is honestly the reason I believe football is the most popular sport to watch in America. Whatever team shows up to play that day usually wins. Unlike hockey or basketball, they have several chances to loose or win, so if a team showed up poorly one day, they could come back the next day and win. In football, all bets are off.

Would I consider the Steelers Superbowl favorites? No I wouldnít, but I do see them as legitimate contenders with the coaching staff they have, as well as the new additions to their team. People will say ďwhy would the Steelers cut James Harrison? They are in so much trouble without him.Ē While we could have used James Harrison, we could have used the before 2011 James Harrison. The Steelers donít just cut people for the fun of it. They obviously have a plan, and that is what makes the Steelers a contender week in and week out. With the dominant defense the Steelers still have, and the scary offense I expect them to have this season, I canít wait for September 8th when the Steelers begin the Stairway to Seven.

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It will take a fair amount of luck for us to win the Super Bowl this year ... but that holds true for any Super Bowl winning team, any year - it would be no different for us.

Our luck will be to stay healthy. If we do, I say we absolutely are competitive to get there and win the big one. But we're pretty thin in at least1 or two spots, so if we have to depend on our backups, it might be kind of tough.

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It will take a fair amount of luck for us to win the Super Bowl this year ... but that holds true for any Super Bowl winning team, any year - it would be no different for us.

Our luck will be to stay healthy. If we do, I say we absolutely are competitive to get there and win the big one. But we're pretty thin in at least1 or two spots, so if we have to depend on our backups, it might be kind of tough.

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Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said the goal is to be world champions. But he isn't emulating one -- well, at least not the current champions.

While the defending Super Bowl champions Baltimore Ravens conducted practice for all three days of mandatory minicamp, Tomlin canceled the final day for the Steelers. Pittsburgh joined the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers as teams who decided to start vacation a little earlier than other teams.

You can certainly make the case that the Steelers should be the ones working and the Ravens should be rewarded. Pittsburgh finished a disappointing 8-8 last season and failed to make the playoffs for the second time in four years. And this doesn't really fall in line with the team's theme of "less talk, more work."

I just get the sense that Tomlin doesn't really get much out of the non-contact offseason training activities. It was last month when Tomlin called it "football in shorts."

Asked Wednesday whether he can make any evaluations off of the spring workouts, Tomlin said, "We could trick ourselves into believing something that would be untrue. Football is a game that’s played in pads, so I’m not going to rush to judge or search for things to grasp onto at this time of year."